So Long VHS - Here Are The 10 Greatest Music Video Tapes

Remember VHS? Let's take a look back at some of the best music collections to be committed to easily scrunched-up black tape. Did you own any of these?

1. Blur - Showtime

Recorded live at Alexandra Palace in October 1994, this is Blur in their Parklife prime, delivering the album with aplomb and even throwing in some nuggets like Chemical World and She’s So High along the way. It ends with This Is A Low, of course.

2. Queen’s Greatest Flix

They claim to have invented the pop video (even though they didn’t), but this career-spanning collection kicks off with the legendary Bohemian Rhapsody promo and charts the band’s metamorphosis from prog-rock whimsy to chart-topping extravagance. Includes such classics as We Are The Champions, We Will Rock You and Flash. Aaaah-ah!

3. U2 - The Unforgettable Fire Collection

The Big Hats are being brought in as the ‘2 ready their fourth album, so alongside the promos for Pride (In The Name Of Love) and the evocative title track, we also get some interminable footage of the band recording the LP with Brian Eno in a big castle. Worthy.

4. R.E.M. - This Film Is On

1991 collection of the promo clips from the classic Out Of Time album. With a title taken from the excellent song Country Feedback, it has the official videos to Shiny Happy People, Losing My Religion, Near Wild Heaven and Radio Song, together with films for some of the album tracks and a couple of MTV Unplugged acoustic recordings thrown in. Arty.

5. Morrissey - Hulmerist

Mancunian puns ahoy for this brief collection of early solo Moz, kicking off with Last Of The Famous International Playboys and winding up with the gloomy November Spawned A Monster. Includes the excellent clip for Everyday Is Like Sunday featuring a female Morrissey lookalike having a shit time by the seaside.

6. The Cure - Staring At The Sea: The Images

Thorough collection of every Mad Bob single from 1979 to 1986 starting off dour-faced in the punk years and winding up with the wacky wardrobe antics of Close To Me. Includes amazing home movie footage in between the clips of the band as they grow up.

7. Pink Floyd - The Wall

Every alienated yoof had a copy of Alan Parker’s movie version of the infamous concept album, starring cheery Bob Geldof as the anti-hero “Pink” (yeah, really) and a stack of Gerald Scarfe animations about hammers and teachers. Bleak.

8. Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Pretty much every household had this “long-form” promo video (or had taped it off Channel 4 when it was premiered on TV), which goes behind the scenes of the uber-expensive John Landis mini-movie. Contains lots of zombies.

9. The Jam - Video Snap

Prime-era Weller in this 15-track collection of Mod hits, from the angry In The City to the chilled out Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow). Best bits are the super-cool video for Start! and Weller in a paisley-patterned scarf in Going Underground.

10. Depeche Mode - Strange

Anton Corbijn cranks up the Super 8 film for this selection of Music For The Masses-era Mode. There are murky clips for Strangelove and Behind The Wheel, plus the extended version of Never Let Me Down in which one of the band encounters some haunted shoes. Honestly.

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